Posted on: October 5, 2023, 06:43h. 

Last updated on: October 5, 2023, 06:43h.

Ireland is moving closer every day to pushing out major reforms to its Gambling ecosystem. As that day approaches, Flutter is reorganizing its Irish betting portfolio and will shut down 21 Paddy Power betting shops.

Paddy Power currently has 241 shops in the country, and this isn’t the first time it’s had to reduce its numbers. After COVID-19 caused the gambling industry to suffer, the company shuttered a handful of its Irish locations.

The transformation not only follows a changing public opinion toward gambling, but a change in where bettors are betting. The transition toward online gambling and betting continues, and Ireland is also experiencing a shift.

Dublin Becomes the Big Loser

Of the 21 “underperforming” shops Paddy Power will close, many serve bettors in Dublin, Ireland’s capital. The entire list includes shops in Galway, Skibbereen, Terenure, Greenhills, Stoneybatter, Goatstown, Dalkey, Old Bawn, Clonmel, Cloghran, Waterford, Kilkenny, Rathdrum, Templemore, Kells, New Ross, Athy, Parkgate Street, Blackrock, Ennis and Cork.

Flutter asserts that Paddy Power continues to perform well in Ireland, but these particular shops aren’t living up to their full potential. The company didn’t specify what its threshold is for considering a shop to be underperforming, but said that it’s witnessing “market share gains” in Ireland and the UK.

In addition, current data shows that the online gaming segment continues to gain momentum. Data from Statistica shows that Ireland’s online sports betting segment was worth $295.80 million last year and could reach $315 million this year. By 2027, the forecast is up to $370 million.

Armageddon Coming to Ireland

Ireland is rewriting its gambling legislation, similarly to how the UK is submitting its gambling industry to a major shift in its operations. So far, it seems like the whole of Irish gambling is going to change.

This has caused consternation in the industry, particularly because it doesn’t appear legislators are taking into consideration the difference between games of chance and games of skill. If the activity has ever been associated with the word gambling, it faces legislators’ wrath.

The racing industry believes that the changes, such as advertising watershed for betting operators and betting limits, are going to upend the industry. Barry Connell, a well-known horse trainer, paints a bleak picture of racing’s future under the current reforms.

If racing is gone from TV, what Connell refers to as an “Armageddon situation,” it will be impossible for industry insiders, including owners and trainers, to follow the sport. Racing Post quoted him as saying, ” Very often, people who own horses can’t get to the races and it’s very important that they can be able to watch their horses running. If that option wasn’t there, you would see a dramatic drop off in ownership and that has a huge knock-on effect for the industry and also tax take for the government.”

Falling on Deaf Ears

The Irish government has already made it clear that no gaming market segment will be exempt from the new rules. New research this week will only force it to shut off more any opposition to the proposed changes.

This is “10 times higher” than what previous studies indicated, according to the media outlet. The ESRI says that this has “serious implications for understanding the role that gambling plays in Irish life.”

It will also have serious implications for how the government moves forward with its reforms, provided the research doesn’t receive any blowback. The study was commissioned by a government-led group in charge of establishing Ireland’s new gambling regulator.